Bibliography

W. Adolphe Roberts (1886-1962) was a prolific writer poet, novelist, journalist, historian. As a political activist he also laid the groundwork for Jamaican independence. Finally published, 52 years after his death, his autobiography, These Many Years, offers a representative Caribbean life: rural upbringing, precocious talent, travel to the USA, literary success, adventures across the world, involvement in politics, return to Jamaica.

In New York Roberts worked as a journalist and editor. However, in the mid-1930s, he made contact with Jamaican activists in Harlem and launched the Jamaica Progressive League, pioneering the movement for self-government. Moving back to Jamaica, Roberts decided against a political career, dedicating himself to studying the region and writing books such as The Caribbean: The Story of Our Sea of Destiny and Six Great Jamaicans: Biographical Sketches.

Roberts zestful account of his literary life, his open recollection of his many lovers, and his frank assessment of his political friends and enemies, including Norman Manley and Alexander Bustamante, make These Many Years a vital source for the Jamaican national story.

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Bibliography

Eric Williams: The Myth and the Man"" seeks to illuminate the political career of one of the Caribbean's most elusive figures, Eric Williams, the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Selwyn Ryan uses a wide array of primary sources, letters, interviews, material from the Public Records Office in the United Kingdom, the State Department Records in the United State of America and the Eric Williams Memorial Collection in Trinidad and Tobago, and demonstrates a strong mastery of secondary sources to provide a sophisticated political analysis of Williams' role in Trinidadian and Caribbean politics. The manuscript focuses on Williams' entry into politics and his tenure as prime minister from 1956 until his death in 1981. Ryan also provides an interesting analysis of Williams' seminal work Capitalism and Slavery and his role as a scholar.The book is a distillation of research and writings that have spanned two decades. The author brings a unique perspective to the work as both a scholar and one who has studied, criticized and been active in Trinidad politics as chairman of the Public Utilities Commission, Trinidad and Tobago.